La Grande Maison Tokyo

La Grande Maison Tokyo is a Japanese television series that aired from October 2019 to December 2019 at the "Sunday Theater" slot on TBS Television.

The series stars Takuya Kimura as disgraced chef Natsuki Obana, who returns to Japan to start a new three-star restaurant following an allergen contamination accident involving an important guest three years ago. This was Kimura's first television drama since the start of the Reiwa era in 2019. and his first on TBS since 2017's A Life My Sweetheart, which reunites him with co-star Mitsuhiro Oikawa. This is also Kimura's first drama in 12 years with Kyōka Suzuki, both previously having been cast members in The Family.

Filming began on-location at the three-star restaurant L'Ambroisie in Paris, France on August 30, 2019, marking the first time the restaurant has appeared in a scripted series.

The catchphrase on the program's official website is "Catch your own star".

On December 29, 2024, a television special episode La Grande Maison Tokyo Special, a sequel to this TV series, is scheduled to be broadcast. A special episode depict the aftermath of the restaurant following the COVID-19 pandemic. On December 30 of the same year, La Grande Maison Paris, a film set in Paris, is scheduled to be released on the Toho network as a sequel to the television special episode.

Premise Japanese chef Natsuki Obana trained at the restaurant L'Ambroisie in Paris, France, which was awarded the highest Michelin Guide star (three stars), and opened his own restaurant Escoffille in Paris and won two stars from Michelin Guide. However, at a 2015 French-Japanese summit luncheon in Paris, the French leader collapsed from allergic shock after the food served was laced with nuts, to which he was allergic. The French bureaucrat said, "More than half of the restaurant's employees are immigrants. All employees must submit work visas because of the possibility of terrorism." The discriminatory order enraged Obana, and he beat the bureaucrat and was arrested, he lost the restaurant and all of his colleagues who worked there.When Kyono asked why he beat the bureaucrat, Obana lied and said it was because he was mocked for his cooking.

In 2018, Rinko Hayami went to L'Ambroisie for a job interview to become a chef there and be trained to be a Michelin-starred chef. She passed the interview due to her passion for cooking but failed in a cooking test. During the interview and cooking test, Rinko met Obana, a chef she had once admired. Obana decided to start his life over and tried to open a restaurant again with Rinko to become a chef at a three-star restaurant. Obana meets with his former colleagues to persuade them to join the staff of new restaurant, but they initially reject Obana because the incident has ruined their lives. After some twists and turns, the two open a restaurant, La Grande Maison Tokyo, aiming to win three stars in the Michelin Guide, but the incident three years ago casts a dark shadow over, and running the restaurant is not smooth sailing.

Development Director Ayuko Tsukahara said that in producing this television series, she was inspired by the movie Seven Samurai. The main character, Obana, played by Kimura, and Rinko set out to win three Michelin stars, and the necessary people gather one after another to achieve this goal. And in the end, it is not the protagonist who receives the highest honor, but the dish that is the result of everyone's efforts. She then said that Obana left because she believed that a hero who helps everyone, like the samurai, encourage everyone to fend for themselves.

In this television series, all the dishes are supervised by first-class chefs and the fact that filming began at the three-star L'Ambroisie in Paris made a big splash. Owner-chef Bernard Pacaud explained how he allowed the filming at his restaurant: I had lent a restaurant once before for filming, but I did not have a good impression of it at that time. This time, there is a Japanese chef who actually works at L'Ambroisie, and I have a Japanese chef friend who trained with me and now runs a restaurant in Tokyo (Masao Saisu, Chef of Cote d'Or in Minato, Tokyo), so I know Japanese people well, and I had met with the television series' filming staff and decided that I could trust them, so I allowed the filming of the television series. The culinary supervision for La Grande Maison Tokyo was done by Chef Shuzo Kishida of the French restaurant Quintessence in Shinagawa, Tokyo, which has actually won three Michelin stars. The cooking equipment used in the kitchen of La Grande Maison Tokyo is authentic, provided by Fujimak Corporation, which actually manufactures and sells commercial cooking equipment. Chef Thomas Frebel of the French restaurant INUA in Iidabashi, Tokyo, supervised the cooking at gaku, a rival restaurant of La Grande Maison Tokyo. Restaurant gaku was actually filmed on location at Maison Paul Bocuse, a high-end restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo. The desserts in the stories were supervised by Junji Tokunaga, chef-patissier at the InterContinental Tokyo Bay. The dessert "Mont Blanc Amafaçon," which appears in episode 4, was first conceived by Chef Kishida, and the design and presentation were arranged by Chef Tokunaga to match the setting in which the dessert was conceived by pastry chef Moe Matsui.

In addition, starring Takuya Kimura, who plays Natsuki Obana, actually cooked all the dishes in the cooking scenes. Kimura actually made 16 servings of the dish "Echube long-armed shrimp" that Obana cooked for Rinko in Paris, which was broadcast in the first episode. Kyōka Suzuki, who played Rinko Hayami, said that Kimura made everything from the very beginning of the process for the first episode, "Echube long-armed shrimp," and that they had to shoot many takes and from different angles, so they needed a lot of shrimp, but he made it all every time and it tasted delicious. The other actors playing the chef also worked hard to make their performances realistic. Yuta Tamamori, who played the role of Hirako, who worked in Paris as Obana's apprentice, said that he had not had much cooking experience before but learned how to cut vegetables and practiced by making many omelettes to give the impression that he was familiar with cooking. Onoe Kikunosuke V, who played the role of Tango, the chef of the rival restaurant gaku, is a kabuki actor. He said that his dream, other than being a kabuki actor, was to become a chef when he was a child, and that he had a fulfilling time playing this role. He said that in playing a chef, he started making breakfast at home, and his skills improved so much that his family has recently started to eat second helpings of it.

The television series was actually filmed at Embassy of France, Tokyo. The policeman who subdued Obana in the first episode was a real French policeman. On October 18, 2019, a preview was held at French ambassador's residence, where Ambassador Laurent Pic introduced Kimura, saying "I would like to introduce my friend, Takuya Kimura".

Characters

La Grande Maison Tokyo

A French restaurant opened by Obana and Rinko in a corner of Meguro, Tokyo. Later, Aizawa, Kyono, Matsui, Serita, Kuzumi, and Hirako joined the staff.

Natsuki Obana (age 47) Played by Takuya Kimura The protagonist of this work. Sous-chef. He was once a top chef who worked at the three-star restaurant "L'Ambrosie" and later ran a two-star Michelin Guide restaurant Escoffille in Paris, but "nuts incident" prevented him from working as a chef and he led a depraved life. In Paris, he met Rinko Hayami and decided to open "La Grande Maison Tokyo" in Tokyo, aiming to win three Michelin Guide stars together.

Rinko Hayami (age 49) Played by Kyoka Suzuki The heroine of this work. Chef de cuisine. She has an absolute palate, but has never managed to win a star in the Michelin Guide. On her mother's recommendation, she once visited Escoffille in Paris and was impressed by Obana's cuisine. On her way to a job interview in France, she had a fateful encounter with Obana, and together they opened La Grande Maison Tokyo, aiming to win three Michelin stars.

Shohei Hirako (age 29) Played by Yuta Tamamori He was the youngest head chef at a hotel buffet restaurant. His work is precise and fast. He used to work under Obana at Escoffille in Paris, but "nuts incident" brought him back to Japan. He is dissatisfied with his job at the buffet, where he has to make a lot of the same dishes.

Kouichi Serita Played by Kanichiro Part-time employee He is honest and cheerful. He applied for the job after seeing La Grande Maison Tokyo's part-time job opening. After graduating from high school, he had worked part-time at an izakaya (Japanese-style pub).

Moe Matsui Played by Ayako Yoshitani Buffet restaurant patissier She graduated from an art college, not a culinary school. She believes that desserts should not only taste good, but also look good and be pretty. She is a colleague of Shohei and works at the same buffet restaurant.

Kanna Kuzumi Played by Anne Nakamura Freelance food writer She speaks English and French. She is a certified sommelier and is familiar with domestic wines.

Kamehito Aizawa (age 47) Played by Mitsuhiro Oikawa Popular web cooking researcher. He is a sociable and cheerful guy. He has a French wife and daughter. He used to work for Escoffille as a start-up staff member invited by Obana, but after "nuts incident", he separated from his wife and returned to Japan.

Rikutaro Kyono (age 49) Played by Ikki Sawamura 'gaku' Garçon He used to be a chef. He used to manage a restaurant with Obana in Escoffille, Paris, but after "nuts incident" he was in debt. He was invited by his former rival Tango to work as a garcon at the restaurant Gaku.

Restaurant "gaku"

A high-end restaurant located in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo.

Manabu Tango (age 45) Played by Onoe Kikunosuke V Chef de cuisine. He has a strong rivalry with Obana. He once trained as a chef at L'Ambroisie in Paris with Obana and Kyono. He set up his own restaurant ahead of Obana, but the restaurant failed because "Escoffille," which was later launched by Obana and Kyono, was awarded a star first. Fumio Etoh Played by Toru Tezuka Owner. Usually speaks in a fake Kansai dialect. The company "Office Eats" produces various restaurants and has several stores. gaku" is one of them. He is a schemer willing to use dirty tricks to turn "gaku" into a three-star restaurant. In "Gura Gura Maison Tokyo," he showed a side of himself that transformed into a man who loves to talk about love and meddle when he is drunk.

Others Miyu Ebina Played by Aki Asakura She is a hotel concierge and Shohei's fiancée. Her father is a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

Linda Machiko Richard Played by Ai Tominaga Editor-in-Chief of the gourmet magazine "Marie Claire Dining". Lives in France. Former lover of Obana. She is so influential that restaurants she praises are booked up to a year in advance and those she criticizes close their doors. She is searching for the truth about "nuts incident" that happened three years ago in Escoffille.

Staff

Script by Tsutomu Kuroiwa Music - Hideakira Kimura Theme song - "Recipe" by Tatsuro Yamashita (Warner Music Japan) Cooking Supervisor - Shuzo Kishida (Quintessence (restaurant)), Thomas Frebel (INUA), Hattori Nutrition College Culinary creation and instruction - Yukio Hattori, Tomoyuki Sekiguchi, Fumihiko Ohno Food coordination: Noriko Yamazaki, Sayaka Tsuru Desserts Supervisor - Junji Tokunaga (InterContinental Tokyo Bay), Tsutomu Takizawa Magazine Cooperation - Marie claire style Cooking Production - Hideki Ishizaka Coordinators - Emi Sugiyama, Yuko Kawaguchi Produced by Hidenori Iyoda and Keigo Higashinaka Directed by Ayuko Tsukahara, Daisuke Yamamuro, Takahiro Aoyama Production Credits: TBS Television (Japan)

Broadcast Schedule